The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli wasn’t much worried about India’s 22-run loss against New Zealand at the Eden Park in Auckland ODI on Saturday. The men in blue have now conceded 2-0 lead to the hosts in the three-match ODI series. It will be their first bilateral series defeat against the Black Caps in 6 years in ODIs.
Talking about the match during the post-match presentation ceremony, Virat said, “ODIs aren’t too relevant this year compared to Tests and T20s, but to find people who can play that way under pressure is a big revelation for us and a big plus. We let things slip away from 197-8 to 270+ in the first half but came back strongly with the second half of our batting. We were in trouble with the bat, but Saini and Jadeja played really well, as did Shreyas.”
India lost four early wickets courtesy some good bowling display by the New Zealand fast bowlers. Veteran pacer Tim Southee conceded just 41 runs and scalped a couple of wickets including that of Kohli, while debutant Kyle Jamieson had a dream debut as he took 2 wickets and scored a vital unbeaten 25 runs at the end of the innings for his team.
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The Indian team was in some series trouble after losing 6 wickets for just 129 runs but a gutsy batting display by Ravindra Jadeja and Navdeep Saini took the match till the end overs. Talking about the fighting spirit, Kohli said, “We were in trouble with the bat, but Saini and Jadeja played really well, as did Shreyas. To find people who can play that way under pressure is a big revelation for us and a big plus.”
Jadeja and Saini shared a 76 runs partnership for the eighth wicket and assured that India doesn’t give up so easily.
With the series gone, Kohli hinted might opt to make some changes in the final ODI as now they have nothing to lose. He said, “We could consider changes in the final game since we have nothing to lose now. We’ll play expressive cricket and not worry too much about the result.”
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The final ODI is scheduled to take place for February 11 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.
